the presiding officer: anyone in the chamber wishing to change their vote? if not, the yeas are 32 and the nays are 65 and the motion is not agreed to. the presiding officer: without objection.

the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. brownback: , mr. president, parliamentary inquiry -- what's the next item of business? the presiding officer: sanders amendment number 2276. mr. brownback: okay.

mr. brownback: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. brownback: mr. president, with sanders amendment being the issue i raise to my colleague as point of order. i understand the difficulty the dairy industry is in. dairy industry in my state of kansas is an important business and prices are difficult and they are having trouble. however, sappedders amendment provides the farm service agency with an additional $350 million and, unfortunately, even though we could agree that additional funding was necessary it was put in a way that i don't believe it can work and my staff does not believe it is drafted appropriately. there is no mechanism to move the funding from the f.s.a. salaries and expense account to

the dairy price support program. for these reasons i cannot support the sanders amendment and i raise a budget point of order that the pending amendment number 2276, offer the by the senator from vermont, increases spending by $350 million as adl spending would cause the underlying bill to exceed the 302b allocation and i raise a point of order of section f of the congressional budget act. mr. sanders: pursuant to section 904 of the congressional budget office of 1974 i move to way the applicable section for purposes of the pending amendment. mr. president, this amendment is supported by a number of senators, not just from the east coast or the midwest or the southwest or the west coast. in fact, from all over the country. among others, senator snowe, senator udall, senator schumer,

senator bennet, senator collins, senator casey, senator udall of colorado, senator specter, milk skill,mccaskill, senator shaheed we are united that this is a recession is impacting rural america very, very severely and we cannot forget about rural america. mr. president, right now, at this moment, dairy farmers across the country are suffering from the lowest milk prices in four decades. and the last year, the price that farmers received for their milk has plummeted 41% -- 41%. the presiding officer: the accept's one minute has expired. mr. sanders: i ask for support on this amendment. a senator: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be one. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? on this vote, the yeas are 60, the nays are 37.

three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn rn, having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. the point of order is rendered moot. the question is on the amendment. mr. reid: we can't hear. the presiding officer: without objection, the amendment is disagreed to. mr. reid: we can't hear what you're saying. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the presiding officer: the point of order having been rendered moot, the amendment has been adopted by voice vote. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: if we could have order so i could address the senate. the presiding officer: order. mr. reid: first of all, i would like to compliment the senators of this bill, senators kohl and brownback. they have done a great job. we have completed this major

appropriations bill in just a couple of days. one day was pretty short. they've done very good work. mr. president, we're going to vote on final passage, and then we're going to go to the debate on the supreme court nominee. as senator mcconnell and i said earlier today, we have a lot of senators that wish to speak on this. we don't want anyone to feel that they don't have time to speak. but we're going to go in this order. we'll have a democrat and a republican and cloakrooms have to be notified that you want to come and speak. if people wait until wednesday night or thursday to speak, they may not be an opportunity to speak on this. i think -- we know we have at least 28 democrats -- republicans that want to speak and there are probably a like number of democrats that want to speak who haven't already spoken on her. i hope you would indicate to staff how much time you need and

then when they tell you you're going to be -- you need to be available at a certain time, i would hope that you would fry to do that. if there's not a democrat available when it's a democrat's turn, then we'll move to another republican, and vice versa. this is -- the debate in the committee has been outstanding. i think that senator leahy and senator sessions have done a very good job on an issue that people very very strongly on both sides. there's no reason the debate that's going to be on the senate floor shouldn't be as dignified as it was in the judiciary committee. we are tbeeg move to that after final passage. this will be the last vote. night. we'lltory to work out a program so that we can -- we'll try to wowrkt a program so that we can finish this week. we have a little bit of work to do. there's been an agreement between senator mcconnell and i what we need to get done. we may have a few problems explaining what our desires are

to some of the senators. we'll do that as quickly as we can. mr. leahy: would the senator yield? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i say to my friend, the distinguished senator from alabama on the floor, we've also discussed this. senator sessions and i will open the debate, as the leader has said. and then i really would hope -- i've suggested that everybody on this side check with the staff. we are seaght up a list. again, i would urge people to come at the times they said. i agree with you that if they don't, we go to the next person. and finish it up. i would hope that would not be the case. long quorum calls and then everybody says, let's talk. i think the leaders have set up a fair schedule and we should go forward. the presiding officer: the substitute amendment, as amended, is agreed to. the clerk will read the bill for

the third time. the clerk: calendar number 105, h.r. 2997, an act making appropriations for agriculture, rural verntle and so forth and for other purposes. -- rural development, and so forth and for other purposes. officer officer there is a sufficient second. there is. -- the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: anyone in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, on this vote the yeas are 80. the nays are 17. the bill as amended is passed. mr. brownback: move to reconsider. a senator: move to lay on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kohl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. mr. kohl: i'd like to take a minute to thank senator brownback with whom i've worked extremely well on this bill. he's made great contributions to the bill. he has a wonderful staff. fitz elder, stacy mcbride, katie tosky who also made great contributions. on my side, diane naylor and bob

ross made great contributions. we're all very proud of the product. we're pleased with the vote and happy that it's over. mr. brownback: mr. president, i too want to make a few comments here. and that is to thank my colleague, senator kohl, who's worked on this for some period of time. i thought this was one of the smoothest appropriations bills we've had on the floor. i want to thank my colleague and particularly his work and that of the staff to make this happen. gaylin fountain, jessica frederick, bob ross. on mine, fitz elder, katie tosky and ryan scott melanie benning were key on it. i had some consternation where we broke the b0 legislation. we have a huge budget on our

hands and we have to hit these numbers. i know it was important to the chairman on dairy funding. it is important -- particularly if you're from wisconsin, it is important work. it shows a lot of sport and strength when you have a major bipartisan vote on this at the end of it. and my hope is that that's the way we'll operate in the body in a bipartisan way so we can move things through for the good of the country. we're in the minority, obviously, but there's no reason we can't work these issues together as much as we possibly can. senator kohl has been excellent to work with and i appreciate that chance to do it. i look forward to this getting through on a stand alone base i not rolled together in an omnibus package if at all possible. it is an important topic and one that we should be able to do that with. i would like the opportunity to get that done. i yield the floor. mr. kohl: i would like to thank

senator brownback for his kind words and i would like to thank phil carsing. he was an important part of the product to put this forward. thank you. the presiding officer: the senate insist on its amendment and requests a conference with the house and the kay appoints the following conferees. the clerk: feinstein, durbin, johnson, reed, pryor, annoyway; bennett, cochran, bond, mcconnell, and collins. a senator: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i ask that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: under the previous order the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, supreme court of the united states, sonia sotomayor of new york to be an associate justice. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the first hour of debate the senate control of

the chair and the ranking committee. mr. leahy: i thank the distinguished presiding officer and also himself a member of the judiciary committee who has participated in all of the hearings on judge sonia sotomayor. when the judiciary committee began the confirmation hearing on the nomination of judge sotomayor to supreme court, in my opening statement i recounted an insight from dr. martin luthe martinluther king, jr. i did it because it is often quoted by president obama, the man who nominated her. the quote is -- let us realize the arc the universe is long, but it bends towards justice. you know, mr. president, each generation of americans has

sought that arc toward justice. indeed, that national purpose is inherent in our constitution. and the constitution's preamble the founders set forth to establish justice. it's one of the principle reasons that we, the people of the united states, join together to a day and establish the constitution. this is intertwined in the american journey with another purpose for the constitution that president obama often speaks about. we all admit is the unfinished goal of forming a more perfect union. our union is not yet perfected. we make progress eachen ration. -- each generation. that journey began with the foundation of the bill of rights and then continued with the civil war amendments. the 19th's expansion of the amendment to allow the vote for women.

the 1964 act, the voting rights act of 1965, the 26th's amendment of the vote to young people. these actions have marked the path of inclusion much they recognize a great diversity is the strength of our nation. judge sotomayor's journey to this nomination is truly an american story. she was raised by a working mother in the bronx after her father died when she was a child. she rose to win top honors as one of the first classes of women to graduate from princeton. she excelled at yale law school. she was one of the few women in the manhattan district attorney's office in the mid 1970's she became a federal trial judge and the first latino judge on the federal appeals court when she was confirmed for the second circuit over a decade ago.

i might note on a personal basis, mr. president, i am a member of the bar of the second circuit as well as the federal district court of vermont. that's the circuit i belong to as a member of the vermont bar. and i know how excited we were in the second circuit when she became a member. she's now poised to become the first latino justice. and, actually, only the third woman to serve on the united states supreme court. she's broken barriers on the way. she's become a role model to many. her life's journey is a reminder to all of the continuing fatality of the american dream. judge sotomayor's selection for the supreme court also represents another step toward the establishment of justice. i've spoken over the last several years about urging presidents and i've done this with presidents in both political parties to nominate

somebody from outside the judicial monastery to the supreme court. because i believe that experience and perspective and understanding how the world works, how people live, how real people live and how the effect decisions will have on the lives of people. they have to realize this and this has to be -- these have to be very important qualifications. one need look no further than the lily ledbetter and the diana lavigne case to understand the impact that each supreme court impact has on the provides and freedom of countless americans. in the ledbetter case, five justices on supreme court struck a severe blow to the rights of working families across our country. in effect, they said we could pay women less than men for the exact same work. congress acted to protect women and others against discrimination in the workplace more than 40 years ago.

yet, we still struggle to ensure that all americans, women and men, receive equal pay for equal work. it took a new congress and a new president to strike down the immunity the supreme court had given to employers who discriminate against their workers that successfully hide their wrongdoing. the supreme court had allowed them to do that. we changed that again. i remember the pride i had, mr. president, when i stood beside president obama when he signed his first piece of legislation into law, the lily ledbetter law. which says something that every one of us should know just instinctively in our heart a hed soul, that women should be paid the same as men for the same kind of work.

but for all the talk about judicial modesty and judicial restrain for the nominees of a nomination, when you see in the supreme court in the last four years it has been anything but modest and restrained. now, i understand crying judicial activism when judges have simply substituted their judgment for those of elected officials. but that's what we've seen these last few years from the conservative members of the supreme court. when evaluating judge sotomayor's nomination, i believe senators should consider what kind of justice she will be. will she be in the mold of these activists who gutted legislation designed to protect americans from discrimination in their jobs and voting or gutting laws to prevent the access of americans to health care and education? laws meant to protect the

privacy of all americans from an overreaching government? i think not and i hope not. and the reason i think not and hope not, mr. president, because i've looked at what kind of judge she's been for 17 years, and that's not the kind of judge she's been for 17 years. keep in mind, this is a nominee who has had more experience on the federal court -- more experience on the federal court than any nominee to the supreme court in decades. what we see is that she applied the law to the facts in the case that she's considered. she's done that while understanding the impact of her decisions on those before the court. those who struggle to pin the label of judicial activist on judgeotomayor are met by her very solid record of judging

based on the law. she's a restrained, experienced and thoughtful judge who has shown no bias in her rulings much the charge by some senate republican leaders that they fear she will show bias is refuted over and over again in her record of 17 years. in fact, her record as a judge is one of rendering decisions impartially and neutrally. no one has pointed to decisions that evidence bias. no one has shown any pattern of her asserting her own personal preferences into her judicial decisions. no one can because that does not exist. that is no who she is nor is it the type of judge she has been. her record demonstrates her testimony before the judiciary reinforced she is a restrained and fair and impartial judge who applies the law to the facts of

the cited cases. the kind of judge that any one of us who have practiced law would want to appear before, whether we're plaintiff or defendant, government or respondent, rich or poor. ironically the few decisions for which she has been criticized are cases in which she did not reach out to change the law or defy judicial prejudice. in other words, cases where she refused to make law from the bench. her 17 years on the bench is not one example, let alone a pattern, of her ruling based on bias, prejudice, or sympathy. she's been true to her oath. she faithfully and impartially performed her duties under the constitution. as a prosecutor and distinguished prosecutor and then as a judge she has administered justice without favoring one group of persons over another. in fact, she testified directly to this poifnt she said and i

quote -- "-- point. she said and i quote -- "i have now served as an appellate judge for over a decade. deciding on a wide rage of constitutional, statutory and other legal questions. throughout my 17 years on the bench, i've witnessed the human consequences of my decisions. those decisions have not been made to serve the interest of any one litigant, but always to serve the larger interest of the impartial justice. madam president, about four years ago the supreme court struck down a law that congress passed to protect religious freedom. since then, activist group of justices has issued a number of rulings that further restricted the power of congress under section 5 of the 14th amendment. they limited other important federal statutes such as the

violence against women act. they have done this by using a test created out of whole cloth without any root in either history or in the text or our constitution. scholars across the political spectrum have criticized the supreme court rulings including judge john noonen, a republican appointmentee to the federal bench. let's have some history, madam president. hundreds of thousands of americans lost their les fighting a civil war that ended the enslavement of millions of americans. after the war, we transformed our founding charter, the constitution, into one that embraced equal rights and human dignity through the reconstruction amendments. by not only abolishing slavery but also by guaranteeing the equal protection of the law for all americans. and prohibiting the infringement of the right to vote on the basis of race.

but these reconstruction amendments are not self-implemented. both the 14th and 15th amendments of the constitution contain sections giving congress the power to were foars amendments. congress acts to secure america's voting rights when it passes statues like the voting rights act. congress acts to ensure the basis for our democratic system of government when we provide for implementation of this. contrasted with the resistance that met initial enactment of voting rights act of 1965, something that brought about enormous debate in this country, three years ago, republicans and democrats in the senate and house of representatives came together to reauthorize key expiring provisions of the voting rights act. overwhelmingly bipartisan effort

to preserve the rights of all americans to have equal access to the democratic process. i stood with president george w. bush as he proudly signed that restoration and attended the oral argument over the constitutionality of the voting rights act. it appears from the questions posed by the conservative justices they were ready to apply rulings in which they second-guess congress in order to strike down a key provision of the voting rights act. one of this country's most important civil rights laws. and lacking such a shift, constitutional ruling was avoided. but i remain concerned that they stand poised to overturn other decisions made by the constitution, or by the congress

when we say how best to protect the rights and well-being of the american people. when she was designated by the president, judge sotomayor said the wealth of experience, professional and personal will help with every case i hear and help me understand, respect, and respond to drns an arguments ofl those who appear before me and the views of my colleagues on the bench. i try not to forget the real world cons of m consequences on individuals, businesses and government. but it took a supreme court to understand the real world to see that the seemingly fair sounding doctrine of spli separate and el was, in reality, a straitjacket

in equality, offensive to the constitution. now, we had separate but equal. years in this country we had segregation. we had segregations in the schools, a blight on the idea of a color-blind constitution. and all americans have come to the supreme court's unanimous rejection of race or discrimination in inequality of brown v. board of education, a case of the real world impact of a legal doctrine but just two years ago, in the seattle school designature gigs casdesegregatia narrowly divided supreme court undercut brown v. board, a decision that was unanimous.

the seattle school district was voluntarily trying to main tapen diversity but the activists on the court, by 5-4, that program was prohibited. that decision, it broke more than half a sensory of jurisprudence and setback the long constituting el for equality. justice stevens wrote that the chief justice's opinion twisted brown v. board in a cruel and ironic way. madam president, i think most americans that, there is a crucial difference between a community that does its best to include schools include children of all races and one that prevents children of some races from attending certain schools. real world experience tells us that.

those of us who have been parents, grandparents, we know this. justice breyer's dissent said this was overly theoretical over case law and it sevens to mask a radical nature of today's decision, laws not exercised in mathematical logic. if it was we could just have computers on our supreme court. chief justice warren in kansas supreme court with real world experience, recognizes the power of a unanimous decision. the roberts court is now desegregation two years ago ignored real world experience of millions of americans and showed -- shoved it apart, the

most hallowed precedence of the supreme court. i will be saying more about this as we go along, madam president. but i note that her critics missed, as judge sotomayor pointed out, greater fairness fidelity to law, by acknowledging that despite the aspiration of impartiality she shares with other judgments, judgejudges are human. critics ignore this by saying they have not perfect. i would like to know which of the 100 u.s. senators could claim to be perfect.

there are some who could but i'm not one of them. by knowledging that judges come to the bench with sprpses and -s and viewps they can be on guard by striking for a more diverse bench we can better ensure decisions of the court will be freer and of limited viewpoints and narrow bias. let me point to one example, because judges, just as senators, bring their experience to this body, judges do, too. judge sotomayor sat on a three-judge panel involving strip searches of adolescents girls and parents of two challenged the strip search policy for those admitted to juvenile detention center as a

violation of the fourth amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches. two of the male judges on the second circuit upheld the strip search of the young girl. in dissent, judge sotomayor cited controlling circuit precedent described what is involved in strip searches of the girls who never have been charges with a crime -- keep that in mind -- and without any basis for individual suspicion and said the court should be wary of strip sevens of chp becaus -- strip search ofchildre psychological damage and she also emphasizes that many of the girls have been victims of abuse and neglect and they may be more vulnerable mentally and emotionally than other youths their age. now, the supreme court recently decided a similar case, the redding case and found school officials violated the fourth

amendment rights of a young girl by conducting an intrusive strip search of underclothes while looking for the equivalent of a pain reliever that many of us have in our medicine cabinets. during oral arguments, in that case when one of the male justices compared the search to simply changing for gym classes self other justices answered with laughter. not the reaction i would have if that was my daughter. justice ginsburg, the lone female justice on the supreme court described the seven as "humiliating" to young girls. she spoke out and she did not join in that laughter. and ultimately the supreme court decided that case by a vote of 8-1. justice souter, the justice --

the judge sotomayor is up for replacing wrote that opinion. that mirrored the opinion of judge sonia sotomayor. i suspect justice ginsburg understanding of the intruciveness of the strip search that ultimately prevailed. can we say our live experience bears no weight in what we do? among the first purposes of the constitution is to establish justice. it's the purpose that has animated the improvements we have made over generations to our constitution. it is a purpose engraved in the words over the entrance of the supreme court. these words are in vermont marble and they say "equal justice under law." madam president, all the dozens and dozens of times i have walked into the scour, u suprem, straight across from this chamber i always pose to read those words: equal justice under

law. isn't that what we should stand for? i hope and believe that judge sotomayor understands the critical respose of bot importas and justice. she spoke of the meaning of justice and said almost every person in our society is moved by that one word. it is a word embodied with the spirit that rings in the hearts of people. it is an elegant and beautiful word that moves people to believe that the law is something special. madam president, i believe that judge sotomayor will live up to those words when she is confirmed, as she will be confirmed, to the united states supreme court. the senior senator from vermont will vote for that confirmation. i yield the floor and i reserve the remainder of my time.

mr. sessions: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i thank the chair and i appreciate the opportunity to speak. before i do i want to say that we had some disagreements as we went along about how to conduct the hearing but chairman leahy made a commitment that we would have a fair hearing, that every senator would have an opportunity to question the witness and have the team to follow up and he complied with that and i think we had a good hearing. judge sotomayor was voted out of the committee. i appreciate her kind words to me and to our colleagues on how she felt she was treated. and i think the hearings were fair and effectively discussed the important issues raised by this nomination. the situation -- our confirmation process began with the president indicating that empathy was a standard that he

believes should be applied to selecting judges. there is some disagreement about that and i am one of those who do not believe that's a legal standard. it's a kind of standard that is objective. indeed, it is closer to a political standard. we need to be careful that (announcer) new nivea for men active 3 nivea's first 3-in-1 shower...shampoo...and shave. it's almost everything men need for grooming... almost. new active 3 from nivea for men. what men want. ♪ return there for you and your guilty pleasures. ♪ how long... ♪ how long

♪ round of miller lite. (announcer on call) ...here it comes... watch this now... got it! my goodness! test t

>> the mort bus working its way across the nation and across the nfl. today's stop with the packers. a malfunction junction with the bus? that's mort riding into camp on a bicycle, a wobbly, rickety bicycle it appears, as well. mort, you didn't look very steady on that bike. you were all over the road there. >> well, somebody tampered with the steering wheel. the other thing is we actually had some kids who were serving as reporters running alongside me. they were trying the ask me questions. you know how reporters are. they distract you and throw you off. >> all over you, hounding you left and right. that's a tradition at packers camp, players ride the kids' bikes and the kids carry the helmets and all that. so the packers, mort, a year removed from all this controversy with the departure of brett favre. aaron rogers has had a pretty good year under his belt.

where is he now in year two as the starter? >> well, listen, he just is that much more comfortable. i think everybody pretty much has analyzed it. nobody could have handled the situation last year better than aaron rogers did both on and off the field. off the field he never looked rattled by what was going on behind the scenes with brett favre. i think one reason is because mike mccarthy assured him he was the guy. the other thing is he performed very well on the field. now, they didn't end up with the victories, but most people would say that wasn't his fault. i know almost everybody would say that wasn't his fault. >> morty, the specter of brett favre i guess sort of lingers because there's a lot of thought the packers would have to play favre and the vikings twice this year if favre did indeed come back. what sense do you have the packers are relieved they won't have to go through that? >> i didn't have a sense they were really concerned with it. and i don't know what the reason why. i mean, as a lot of people always say, well, it's his shoulder, his arm, it's always

been a sense that the first thing to go is your legs. so brett would have been a threat to them in some way, but they brought in dom capers to run their defense, and i feel good about the threat they would have presented to brett. at the same time, they know, mike mccarthy, the coach, they know the n.f.c. north, they certainly believe is going to be one of those competitive races in all the nfl. they just know how good the bears are going to be, how much better they'll be, and certainly they know the vikings have a lot of talent and are the defending division champions. >> a lot to think about. the packers hoping to win that division and maybe they haven't closed the door on michael vick. what are you hearing up there? >> you know, ted thompson the general manager, if i had to name one general manager least likely to be in the middle of a controversy or would like to be in the middle of a controversy, it's ted thompson. so the fact that he seemingly left the door open for michael vick was a surprise, but i've been reassured behind the scenes that he just wanted to stay consistent with his policy,

which is to be vague on any personnel question, and therefore i can tell you that michael vick will not be a green bay packer. >> all right. it seems like a lot of doors shutting on michael vick these days. packers' defense, one of the worst in the nfl last season. as you mentioned, they did bring in the defensive coordinator dom capers. he is redoing things here. he's going to the three-four. how goes the transition? >> well, it's apparently going well. one of the things they did, they drafted for it. they drafted b.j. raji, the boston college defensive tackle. he's not signed yesterday, that first rounder. he'll get signed. they also drafted clay matthews at ow side linebacker. they're converting aaron cantman. it created a little controversy, but it did with jason taylor in miami, and eventually that worked out fine with jason taylor. i saw dom capers, he was smiling. i know mike mccarthy's please

with what he's seen. part of that is getting the coaching staff, not just the coordinator, but the coaching staff to understand what cape verse doing. everywhere capers has gone, there's been an immediate improvement, almost dramatic improvement from what they were the year before to his first year. so they're expecting big things from this defense, certainly improvement. >> if that defense could just be a middle of the pack d, that's pretty good football team. what are the thoughts about... you mentioned how the division may shake out. what are their thoughts on reaching the playoffs this season? >> well, i think they feel good about their football team. i mean, their offense, they believe they're going to score points, and getting ryan grant and maybe running the ball a little bit better, more consistently is the goal. they think... some people think the offensive line might be weak. i think they feel good about the offensive line. young guys are coming around, and i think they believe they're playoff team. so what you hear a lot from the bears and the packers is, we expect to be a double-digit win team.

they're not saying that publicly. but i think that's their expectations privately. and injury always factor in. certainly that's what they're thinking. i think they're hoping for a ten-11-win season. >> the mort bus stopping with the packers today. i know you have to guess up and get get out of. there we do appreciate the time. >> all right, dave. thanks. >> and the bus will head north now to minnesota tomorrow and then they move over and check out jay cutler and the bears. thursday the colt, lions and browns. no days off for the mort bus. >> for the first time in 17 season, the tennessee volunteers begin practice under someone besides phillip fulmer. fulmer's replacement lane kiffin has made plenty of headlines since he's arrived in knoxville. now he'll rye to make the vols an elite program once againment for more on the vols we're joined by dave hooker who covers tennessee football for the "knoxville news-sentinel," and dave, lane kiffin if nothing else has kept tennessee in the

news for much of the off season. is the university okay with the fashion he's gone about doing it? >> for the most part yes. i mean, i think at some point they got a little wary. i'll say that's a hokey comment, where he criticized that community jokingly at a get-together, a breakfast get-together for boosters. i think they weren't too crazy about some other things, but for the most part i think they're okay with him getting tennessee's name out there because tennessee is being talked about. you're talking about a program that's on the down side. he's replacing a longtime head coach who won a national championship, and otherwise i don't think tennessee would be in the news. so to get out there and recruit nationally you have to do that with tennessee's in-state talent. i think for the most part they're okay with it, but at some point they asked him to calm down a little bit and i think he's done some. >> so much of the chatter has been in regards to lane kiffin and his recruiting. very little of the chatter is about what's returning on the football field and how good

tennessee can be. they start with western kentucky. what are the expectations for this team? >> i think seven wins is a fair place to be. eight i think would be an exemplary season. this is a football team that has talent issues and where they are talented in places they're not real deep. eric barry is their one star player. i think he's the best player to play at tennessee since a guy named peyton manning, but other than him you have to look pretty hard to find their next great star outside of their freshman class. they have talented freshman class that came in and looked good in practice today. but as far as proven guys that can be all-s.e.c. top players, there's not very many of them. >> well, we know lane kiffin's father knows a thing or two about defense, but the offense seems to be where most people think lane kiffin will leave his fingerprint. how different will this offense be under kiffin compared to fulmer? >> i think it's going to be different than what it was last year under dave clausen. he was the offensive coordinator

now at bowling g reen. they did a lot of quirky things. i was a very complicated system. they flip-flopped offensive lines. as far as what fulmer did over his career, there will be similarities. there will be a pro style. however, i don't think they're going to be as conservative as phillip fulmer was. he was often criticized for that i think they're going to be a little more aggressive. we'll see how that plays out. lane kiffin also said he's dedicated to run. i think that's a tough question at this point. >> dave, all the stuff off the field, lane kiffin has been in the paper, he's been on the radio. he's been in the blogs for stuff that doesn't really concern what happens on the grass. how much is he expressed how excited he is to actually get out on the field and be a football coach? >> i think he's very excited to do that, and you noticed it two weeks ago in his preseason press conference he had just before s.e.c. media day. you certainly sensed he's

excited just to be a football coach again. he said this is his favorite time of year, and i think you're seeing that on the football field as he runs around. he's as active as anyone in moving around. and i think early he may be seeing the little timid mainly because, you know, he still is a young guy, and this is a big job in college football. but i think he's feeling more and more comfortable every day and excited about what's getting ready to happen. >> the s.e.c. is loaded. we will see. dave hooker from the knoxville news sentd nell. thanks so much for your time. >> thanks. >> the nba schedule out today some when do we get to see the game's two transcendent stars face off. we'll tell you coming up. úú÷÷

 >> the players are warming up at nationals park as the nating return home from an impressive road trip, 4-h 4. the guys are doing practice and nick johnson and an old buddy is back in town, the former florida marlins. that is coming up next on nats' extra! >> there is a look at nationals park. we're getting ready for baseball. byron kerr and ray knight with you on nats' extra. it is the florida marlins starting a series with the nationals. they come in red hot. they have bonn nine of their

last 12. so have the nats, they have won six of their last nine as the nationals come off a very impressive win over pittsburgh getting two out of four the hard way. ray, yesterday, 8-4. >> good pitching from clippard. big home runs by dunn and zimmerman and some key hits in between as we're able to play a pretty solid game. clippard comes in, bases loaded. a one, two, three double play as he strikes out a guy and then dunn hit as home run to left field, and light behind him, zim hits one in the seventh inning atwo-run blass blast. they put up four in the sixth, four in the seventh to put eight runs on the board and our bullpen was able to hold them down. >> 27 home runs now for adam dunn on the season. after the game he talked about the 4-4 road trip. >> we had opportunities to be better than .500, but, you know. know.(.ecl) that's definitely something to build on and, you

know, we're playing good right now. >> you look at that sixth and seventh inning, that's when ryan zimmerman and adam dunn got it going with the home runs. tyler clippard, great pitching. these guys have been heroes here, zimmerman and dunn, showing the long ball. >> if you put don zimmerman and willingham together, that's a pretty formidable three, four, five, punch. not a better one since we have been here with masn doing all of these national games. dunn is up positive .2807 that is a high water mark over the last two months for him. zimmerman is approaching .300 again. zimmerman, 70 rbi's. 21 home runs for zim. 27 for adam. and fast approaching 20 is willingham. so you're looking at the three, four, five hole with almost 70 home runs. >> of course he is on face, zimmerman, for 107 rbi's on the season. however, he hurt his should err little bit.

he got dinged on the hit by the pitch and he is out of the lineup today. >> he almost got his neck taken off that was a nasty pitch and he was able to get his shoulder up. i think the ball probably hit him on the upper part of his shoulder. if it had been more of the meat part of the muscle, it probably wouldn't affect him. it didn't affect him in his next at-bat as he hit a home run, but that is scary when you get up around the shoulders, the neck. i have been hit in the same spot. it take as couple of days. it kind of upsides on you the next day. that night it is just tender, but it gets sore when the blood is starting to run out of there the next day. >> he did hit the home run in the next at-bat, so you have the adrenaline going during the game, as you said, ray. looking at the lineup, jim riggleman decides not put him in and here are the reasons why. >> give limb at least one day here and it is going to be better for the long haul. he doesn't get that many days off, and, you know, this one might help him. >> that is jim riggleman there. the entire rim manager talking

about ryan zimmerman before the game as we're getting ready to head down on the field and talk with debbi taylor here at nationals park to talk about ryan zimmerman and how he is doing. we're going to check in. hey, debi. checking in with ryan zimmerman. you got a chance to talk to him. how is he doing so far? >> he is doing great. she going to take today off. he'll probably be available tomorrow, but the good news is he received the 2009 washington nationals heart and hustle award. in fact, in a few minutes, a former washington senator and the chair of the major league baseball players' alumni association will be here to present rib with the award. >> and the players' association and thins like that, it is something special. it is a huge honor to be that guy and hopefully it can inspire people to play the game hard. >> and does it mean something to you, too, that you are among some really impressive names in baseball, albert pujols, david eckstein, guys that are known

for being guys that give everything out on the baseball field? >> yeah, i think so. but that's the way we look at it. so, you know, it is an honor to be chosen, and i feel like anyone can win. >> where did you learn to play the game right? >> just play the game that way my whole life. i think that is always the way i have been taught. i can't -- not one person has taught me how to play the game. >> is that something you maybe get from your parent ? >> yeah, i think everyone obviously takes things from their parents. my dad and mom both plays red sports and i assume that's the way they played as well. i guess you can take it like that. >> before i let you go, i have to ask you, how are you feeling? >> good. the shoulder is tight, but it could be worse. >> and how weird to see nick johnson in a marlins' uniform. >> it is always different when your teammates get traded and you have the play against them. it is part of the game, i guess, and hopefully he'll do well. >> and a few minutes ago i did

have a chance to say hello to nick johnson and he did admit it was very strange coming to the ballpark today as a visitor and it will be a fun series to watch. guys, back over to you. >> thank you very much. a lot of guys from the gnarls an the marlins switching uniforms the past couple of years, as we look at the match- ups today, ryan zimmerman, that is good news. it is just a day off. tyler clippard who was certainly a hero at the beginning of the comeback. if he gives up the hit, it could be 5-0 or 6-0. >> tyler comes in there and throws the ball extremely well. he has been able to dominate really strikewise and otherwise as he has beenable to post29 strikeouts as you look there in the graphic. he micked up where he left off in triple-a where he was dominating with less than a 1.00 earned run average.

>> the 3-1 strut to walk ratio. and you mentioned -- strikeout to walk ratio. >> he can do pretty much everything from the bullpen. >> if he starts who are we going to have in the bullpen long? i think he is comfortable where he is. let him build on that. let him stay there for a while. you see all of the elevated fastballs. nobody in this ball club elevates the fastball in critical times. strikeout situations, and he throws 90, 91. if system of the guys would take note, and then change the eye level with two strikes, you'd get a lot more punch outs. >> washington nationals and first we're going to take a look at the starting lineups. who is going to play for the nats and j.d. martin warming up for the nationals as they get ready for the marlins.

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corona light. relax responsibly. welcome back to nationals park. looking at the marlins' lineup with hanley ramirez. he has certainly been the man who can terrorize anyone. it doesn't have to be the nationals. .342 batting average on the season for ramirez. hitting lights out as usual, leading the marlins. and they'll go with chris coul lan. he is from gaithersburg, maryland. he moved to florida. nick johnson, a very familiar name at first base followed by mr. ramirez, jorge cantu and dan uggla at second base. jeremy hermida is batting in right field. cody ross is the center field. ' john baker is the catcher and josh johnson of course at 10-2 is the pitcher. christian guzman, multi-hit games, rbi's, that's been the norm for him as he continues to get things going for the top of the lineup, batting .307 on the season. he'll be thereupon with nyjer morgan, morgan is leading off and playing center field for the nats, and then it is guzman

at short followed by josh willingham and adam dunn in the clean-up position. elijah dukes moves up to five with no ryan zimmerman. willie harris is at third base. alberto gonzalez is at second base and wil nieves is the catcher. it will be, of course, j.d. martin being the pitcher today. so we're back in action here. byron kerr and ray knight alongside phil wood. the marlins are going to have some changes in the next few years with the new stadium, but there could be other changes as well. >> opening day 2012, the marlins move into a new ballpark, and on that day thank you will no longer been the florida marlins, they'll be the miami marlins. south florida got a major league ball club with the 1993 expansion, and the owner, he is going to put a winner on the field. in 1997 they were world champions. after the world series, he tore the team apart. he said it was too competencive to win. he wanted out. he was going to sell the club. he got rid of his better

players and in 1998 the marlins went 54-108. now, the club was sold and they put better players on the feldt and in 2003 they won the world series again as a wildcard team, but they knew they needed a new ballpark in south florida. well well, the politicians were a little slow on the get do and it took until march of this year before they finally approved the funding to build a new ballpark. they're going to build a 37, 000-feet ballpark. it will be the smallest in major league, but it will have a retractible roof. it is something the marlins have needed for a long time. and it doesn't happen very often. the team that comes to mind is certainly the angels. they started in 1961 as the las vegas angels playing in los angeles. they moved to anaheim in 1965 and became the california angels, and then, obvious, they became the anaheim angels when disney bought the team in 1997. and then they bought the team and he changed it from the los angeles angels of anaheim, just

so there is no mistake. and you know e you're anaheim when you're at an angels' home game. now, kind of interesting, basketball fans remember when the baltimore bullets came to washington to play at the capital center, and that team was known as the capital bullets. well, land overwasn't in the district, and landover wasn't the capital of maryland, annapolis was. so after one year as the capital bullets, the washington bullets and then the washington wizards. in the marlins case, if you're only moving about a mile and a half, it doesn't seem like that drastic of an idea, but they took the florida originally because who knew if the state would get another big league club. >> the nationals know how a big league stadium can change. and if you have been there, that is a vast difference baseball field. it so quiet there. this new stadium will make a

big difference. >> lit make a difference obviously with the roof. you all of the rain delays and obviously brutally hot weather down there in south florida. i think the marlins' ownership, and they're certainly hoping a new ballpark will show that south florida is rock solid major league town. >> thank you so much, phil. we appreciate the comments there on the miami marlins soon to be. the florida marlins, we're going to preview what they have been doing recently a great western trip as they took two out of three against the dodgers and swept the padres. we'll preview the marlins as we continue "nats xtra"! 

 >> josh willingham and nick johnson chatting before tonight's match-up with the marlins and the nationals. welcome back to nats' extra as we get ready for six at home after a 4-4 road trip. taking a look at the upcoming schedule of those games at home. florida here tonight, tomorrow and, of course, on thursday. the 12:30 game. the diamondbacks on friday, saturday and sunday. arizona arrives for three on

masn hd. so six in a row at home for the nationals as they try to roll along here. 4-4 on that western road trip to milwaukee and pittsburgh. boy, it has seemed like the last couple of years they have taken on the florida marlins and they have their number. i was talking to josh willingham, i was in their clubhouse. there is a cocky bunch of guys, confident they can beat the nats. >> that's what winning does, they have won 10 straight games going back to the last game last year. 10-1 over the last two seasons. the different shall is incredible. the home runs almost quadrupled, they averaged 50 points more and pitching 2.20 earned runs more for our ball club. so the marlins have played it better than anyone in the league, no doubt. the numbers show it. they dominated the offense, and hanley ramirez had 16 home runs, uggla has 11. and on the 17th of april, they hit one in the last inning to

beat us. they're a big offensive club and their bullpen is very strong. >> 25 of the last 28 against the nationals for florida. jim riggleman on what it will take to beat the marlins. >> hopefully we'll play better than we did before and they have really good starting pitching that it is the big leagues and it is supposed to be good. so hopefully we'll be up for a challenge. also a familiar face in town as we see nick johnson at nationals park in an opposite colored uniform wearing 20 now trying to get things going. still number two in the lineup with the marlins. >> and he makes that lineup that much deeper and somebody in important of him, hanley that gets on base a whole lot. and he only played two games. 2-6 that is not much off of what he was hitting here and the home base percentage. so nick is a professional. he comes to the park and he doesn't say a whole lot. he just goes about his business.

he plays excellent first base. he is going to be a major pick- up for the ball club and a run for the wildcard or member innocent. >> -- pennant. >> you did that a few times in your career, too. what is that like for a player? >> well, it is tough. it is tough to go back home to a place that you have been for three, four years and feel like you're the opposition. you almost have to pinch yourself as nick lays there getting stretched. i guarantee you the is thinking about a lot of the memory ins the ballpark and to have that uniform on, it doesn't feel natural. you grow into it. the first time back in here, you look over there in that dug- out, so many memories. so mr. faces. the first time you have ever looked across the field at that angle, and, plus, he has to run all the way across the field now to get to the dug-out. i always liked playing at home when i played third because you were just right there. you can walk out of the dug- out. in the that i was lazy or anything! >> you get off the elevator and you're taking a left instead of the right, and you have to get

used to all of the changes for nick johnson. the marlins, one of the reasons they're such a good ball club is their bullpen. they have won nine of their last 12 games and the relievers are doing a great job. >> they have done great as they have been able to amass a group of guys who throw extremely hard. but you look at the nats' bullpen and a lot of that, the numbers are people that are long gone. our bullpen over the last month with the new guys we have had, since clippard has been here, we have been really solid, burnett. but they have been good all year long. the marlins have lindstrom. nunez, myers, cay lair row, pinto, all of those guys are capable of throwing the ball extremely well. almost all of them are averaging a strikeout per inning. so they have some real power amples in that bullpen and now that lindstrom is back, he's going to be lights out. he is a guy that they saw the

most. nunez has done a great job as a closer. >> the reason why they're a good team is their bullpen, too, and that's what the nationals are striving for. guys like sean burnett and jason bergmann doing a good job, too. >> our bullpen has gotten better. jason has finally worked himself into a spot in the bullpen and he feels comfortable, troughing the heck out of the baseball. clippard just continues to amaze me and kensing is a guy that befuddles you. he is threing the wall really well, but he is just not throwing enough strikes, and he gets behind the hitters and they tee off on him. >> it is time for the stay in the game hold of the day. it is brought to you by just for men hair color. looking a the hold force the washington nationals and jason bergmann is at the top of that list with four since july 1. joe beimel now with the rockies, sean burnett, jorge sosa there getting one and ron villone, a single hold for the nationals and they look for many more of those. and you, too, can stay in the game with just for men hair

color. it is the nats and the marlins coming up from nationals park. stay tuned! 

 >> welcome back to "nats xt byron kerr and ray knight. the fans are filing back home. they're back hope, baby! getting ready for games against florida and arizona. a beautiful night for baseball at the park and the marlins going through tear batting practice now. welcome back with you and we're talking starting pitching, ray, looking at the two guys that are going to be going. not an easy match-up here. you have josh johnson who is lights out for the marlins and j.d. martin for the nats. >> and he is one of the best pitchers in the league. 10-2 with a 2.82 earned run average. he is just a guy that has been dominant. 17-2 record rear sus the east and .206. he is currently third in the league. and he also doesn't walk anyone. he struck out the eighth most people in the like. he has a fastball, a good

slider. ironically the nationals have hit him well over the three starts that he has made this season hitting about .260, but he is really come fact against right-handed hitters. they autoer only hitting .205 against him. >> 18 straight start where is he has allowed three or fewer runs. the guy can really bring it tonight. adam dunn "talk backs" about facing josh johnson. he is one of the best in the game. he is a big tall guy that throws hard and he doesn't walk a lot of people. we have a challenge eye led of us. >> it certainly will be a challenge today for the nationals. j.d. martin gets the chance for the nats. he is still looking for that first win and a different part of his career coming over from cleveland and getting a shot with the nationals. six innings in his last match- up, starting to build a little bit of a resume. >> yeah, he knows what he is doing out there on the mound. he is a little different from the other young starters in that he doesn't throw 93, 94. he is 88 to 90 with a good

breaking ball and he knows how to pitch. he knows how to use the breaking ball to pitch off of the breaking ball to get up to his fastball. i think his fastball, it is that much quicker. and he has a great mound presence. he probably understands more about pitching than any pitcher on our staff. >> and you talked about that four innings he had and two innings, and he said he felt much more relaxed even though he got tagged with the loss against milwaukee. it is all about getting the innings and facing the big league hitters and knowing what you have to do. >> he pitched extremely well. he was able to get that breaking ball over a lot and use that anytime in the count. he actually started four, five hitters off with strikes. he's going to throw strikes. he is going to move the ball around. he knows his position well. he was the first guy i saw under riggleman go from first to third. he is a good athlete. >> what is interesting is both of these guys have gone through tommy john surgery and j.d. can take inspiration for what he is going through seeing how josh turned out. >> there's a lot of guys now

that have gone through tommy joan. they know it is going to be a year to 18 months and they can come back and be stronger than ever. >> you look at what j.d. martin has to do. you talk about the breaking ball and jibing johnson is -- mick johnson saying -- nick johnson saying this ask what you can do. >> and he was not here. nick wasn't here a lot while -- only two starts that martin had to face him so i think the scouting report, plus flick's comments, are going to make a difference. but, hey, if you haven't seen a guy, it doesn't matter what anyone says. you get mostly the visual from him, the velocity of his fastball. the movement of his fastball, the break and the depth of his breaking ball, and you have to be able to gauge that after you get in that batter's box. >> ray, the nationals want to turn things around today against the florida marlins. of course, they have lost 10 straight against the fish, but they're at home. six in a row. feeling confident after the 4-4

home-to-road record. bob carpenter and rob did i believe have the call coming up! -- dibble have the call coming up! my name is blake,

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 >> bob: the nationals are coming off their best road trip of the season in milwaukee and pittsburgh. tonight the marlins are in d.c. a familiar face at first base. it is military night on masn as we salute the coast guard.

>> bob: former teammates and old friends for now, competitors in a few moments. we welcome nick johnson and the marlins to nationals park. it is sort of ironic that four days after the trade nick is back as a visiting player. bob carpenter and rob dibble. rob, especially on the heels of what we would call a good road trip, 4-4. and a come of really nice comeback wins. >> rob: yes. and a lot of this was set up because of good defense and pitching performances from the bullpen. let's set it up with wil nieves behind whole plame with -- plate with a big throw-out. we come right back, josh willingham hit as go-ahead home run. so it came off of the great defense. you get great offense. last night bases loaded, no outs, 3-0. you get the comebacker. josh bard. you make sure you get one, two, and a big three-run home run puts us up for good against the pittsburgh pirates. so two of those wins were comeback wins but set up

because of the defense and the pitching. and the nats have won six of their last 10. they're doing great as far as runs per game these days. elijah dukes is in here now and this offense is cooking. >> yeah alot of it has to do with niagaraer and christian at the top. he has to get settled into his position. we're going to miss ryan zimmerman, and we have willie harris. i think everybody has to settle in there. this is what my limitations are, this is what i have to give the team tonight. >> bob: let's talk about the pitching match-up. it i ameers to be a mismatch. only the fourth career state for j.d. martin and then there is 10-2, two complete game, 2.87 josh johnson. 4-0 career against the nats. @d

 >> nationals baseball on ma brought to you by southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. and by pnc bank. pnc, leading the way.

it's warm. it is muggy. it's hazy. it is washington in august and the nats are back home for a short little six-game home stand against the marlins and the arizona diamondbacks. here is the marlin lineup. they're nine knot the league in hitting. fifth in runs. seventh in homers. it is brought to you by southwest.com. and hanley ramirez has a chance to win the batting title. he is number one in the league at .342 and he has 15-point advantage over, of all people, pap low sandoval of the san francisco giants. j.d. martin sees the marlins for the first time. if he stays with the nating long enough, he'll see them a lot in divisional play. wil nieves is his mate. the defense is ready. here we go. chris coghlan steps in. light on time at 7:05. at least for a moment we were. they're pointing out something

down the left-field line. the third base umpire and -- >> rob: i think it is teddy. teddy wants to play left field. >> bob: paredly cloudy. it is 90 at game time. it was smoking in town today. the marlins are five over .500, five games in back of the phillies in the east. the phillies are hosting colorado tonight and here is the first pitch of the game at 7:06. just missed. chris coghlan. a compensation round pick. he started the year at triple-a and with the marlins he is their lead-off guy with only a 3.43 on-base average. emilio bonifacio is hitting only .248 and the 1-1 for martin is right on the corner. the crew chief and 1616-year

veteran. and adrian johnson, jim wolf. a swing and a foul and it just falls out of the glue of wil nieves. chris coghlan, 24 years of age from palm harbor, florida. he played at the university of mississippi, better known as ole miss and the count is 2-2. the marlins own the nats until the washington nationals do something about it. a record of 9-0 this year. so nick johnson has been on both sides of this thing now if the nats beat the marlins, nick johnson will be the only guy who is oh-fer 10 in this series. so it is about time the nats took care of florida. they joe them after the late inning bullpen collapses the second weekend of the season where the marlins came in here

and swept. marlins misses up high. at home the nats are 20-33. on the road, the marlins are 26- 24. that ball is ripped down the right-field side. elijah dukes can't cut it off. he might be thinking three now and he should. he'll be there standing up. the lead-off triple. and willie harris had to rescue an airport throw by elijah dukes. -- errant throw by elijah dukes. and nick johnson will step in with a chance to drive in a run against his former team. >> rob: j.d. martin has already thrown pretty much his entire repertoire, fastball, curve ball, changeup. he gets behind 3-2. he has to come in with a 99-mile-per-hour fastball and coghlan races it down the right-field line. >> bob: nick is warmly received

by the nats' fans. he hit .295 here. some of them are standing. the last connection at the major league level to the montreal expos, nick johnson, who came to montreal from the yak yankees in 2004. more the marlins, he's 2-6 with one rbi in two games. he has also walked three times an been hit by a pitch. he rips it, and adam dunn misses it. 1-0, florida. that didn't take long. a base hit. and florida has two hits and a run already and here is rob with j.d. martin on the pnc scouting report. >> rob: he doesn't have a lot of starts here, so i went with

old stats. five starts as a probefore he gave up a run. he was 30 wins over .500 on the farm. 61-31. so he does know how to win an awful lot and just win tonight. whatever it is, three runs, four runs, stay in there long enough and give the team a chance to win. >> bob: and now you have to do it against one of the best hitters in the game. happenry ramirez hit hard by a pitch over the weekend, but it missed the bone on his knee and he is fine. leading the league at .342 with a 4.09 on-base average. -- .409 on-base average. batting average with runners on base, not necessarily scoring position. only ben abreu with the angels better. way inside. it hit him.

the umpire says it got part of his uniform on the way by, and on a count of 0-2, hanley ramirez hit by a pitch. >> rob: look at how baggy his uniform is. if it was a nice tight uniuniform it wouldn't have hit him. j.d. martin trying to establish the inside part of the plate. i have no problem with that. you're going to clip some guys sometimes. you hit a ground ball and you're going to get two outs. >> bob: next up is jorge cantu and somebody in the defense is hoping he'll hit a ball at them. willingham, morgan, dukes the outfield. wil nieves handles the pitcher. willie harris for a beat up ryan zimmerman at third. ryan looked like he was heading for the emergency room last

night in pittsburgh. he had his right shoulder iced. he had his ankle iced up. bumps, bruises all over the place. and a ball driven to center. nyjer morgan knocks it down. there's a force play at third and he got him! morgan plays it beautifully and aggressively, and on what should have been a base hit, he goes 8-5 on a fielder's choice. is that is impressive. >> rob: i think nick johnson saw enough of nyjer morgan when they were teammates to know this ball is going to be caught every time so he holds up at second and he is thrown out at third base. >> bob: that is the second time this year a nationals' outfielder has turned a single into a force play. austin kearns did it in arizona at home plate. that's a big out. the bases would have been loaded an nobody outened here

is dan uggla, two on, one out. uggla continues to be an all-or- nothing major league hitter at times. he leads the marlins with home runs, 19, but he struck out 94 times and he is hitting .227. >> rob: that is just a very head's up play by nyjer morgan. >> bob: and quite frankly alot of center fielders would have been afraid to charge a ball that aggressively that hops right in front of them. that will be over the dug-out. out of play. he took that, rob, on a very difficult hop. it is not like that thing hit 50 feet in important of him and came belt high. >> rob: if that ball gets by him, it may be an in the park home run. great job by niagaraer first to stop the ball. it is going to be a short hop on him, catches it, and there you see nick holding at second, and he is gunning him out.

>> bob: that is morgan's 12th outfield assist this year, by the way. >> rob: he has a much better arm than i was told when he got here. two of the most prolific arms are right next to each other, morgan and dukes. 1-2 to uggla. >> rob: good stop by wil nieves. >> bob: the marlins because they're fly ball hits, -- hitters, they don't hit into a lot of double f double plays. >> rob: you don't want to bat the ball down and let it get by you. you have to block it like a goalie.

>> bob: 2-2. >> rob: he did it again. >> bob: he is nibbling with the breaking ball. now it is 3-2. uggla has hit into seven double plays. >> rob: watch the technique. you can push down on it or spin the glove. he spins the glove and makes the catch   . >> bob: already over 20 pitches. that was on a would-be base hit. >> rob: it is an awful lot of work to get three out. 24 pitches. he has one out.

>> bob: all of the breaking balls and he misses with the fastball and he walks uggla. and a nationals' nemesis, jeremy hermida steps in. >> rob: he has been doing a great job of throwing strikes. one walk in the first 12 innings he pitched, but it is not about that. you have to pitch to contact. that was a situation right there you could probably get a ground ball double play, get out of the inning and you're trying to strike the guy out and you nibble so much you walk him. >> bob: that is is a good place to stay on hermida. he has hit eight of his last nine games with 10 hits. breaking ball. he took a little bit off and it goes down sharply. >> rob: very nice. >> bob: the information systems' power house and

another one. and a big strikeout for out number two. >> rob: you can't hit that. >> bob: he gets ahead. the fastball. that's what you have to do. you have to get ahead with the fastball and two breaking balls will put him away. good morning, good afternoon, good night and have a seat. >> bob: and the third pitch, just a little bit lower than the second. almost a perfect pitching sequence by j.d. he'll face cody ross who is another free swinger. >> rob: this guy always seems to bang against us. >> bob: he has hit 17 home runs this year. he had a game-winning homer against the nats the last time our ball club went to florida just about a month ago. and -- >> rob: run that by me again? 17 home runs? >> bob: 17 homers. he hit two in one game, and

then the other ones all were one per game and think ear 11- 5. so he's homered in 16 games, and they usually win when he does. >> rob: all of the pitches for j.d. fastball, cutter. >> bob: that's why the marlins love nick johnson. they don't have high on-base percentage guys. they do now with nick. 0-2 count. he's got a good breaking ball going right now. it is barely foul. >> rob: the perfect time you have thrown enough breaking balls where you can throw a 90- mile-per-hour fastball up and

in and probably get him to swing on it. >> bob: the catcher john baker is next. wow was that close! it could have been called either way. the count is 2-2. >> rob: he has such a good curve ball that this slider or cutter may have tricked the umpire. it was a good pitch. >> bob: on a fastball up. it is hit out to center and nyjer morgan is under it, and j.d. martin will do very well to give up only one run. a long inning leaves

in the dark. the bases loaded. ( ding )

 >> it is good to be back at nationals park. the bottom of the first inning coming up. the marlins have a run, and the nats' lineup from southwest.com. elijah dukes is back home. he's in the number five spot. three behind christian guzman who has been on fire. 13 runs last 10 games. he's also driven in 12 over that time. maybe the most impressive number of all.

he has 40 multi-hit games, only miguel tejada with 44 and houston has more in the league. but the nat also have to be good offensively to take on this big horse today. josh johnson, 10-2 with a .2 -- 2.87 e.r.a. now, there was a ballgame here earlier this year where the nats had a big first inning against him, but the bullpen couldn't hold it later. austin kearns hit a grand slam against josh in that game. nyjer morgan shows bunt and the count is even 1-1. as a nat hitting .379 with an on-base percentage of .416. almost half of the ballgames have been multihit affairs here.

and a 2-2. wow. the strike zone by the umpire to start this game. 3-2. morgan doesn't walk much. he is an aggressive guy. and he can't get that one. he foul tips it into the glove of baker for the first out. >> rob: the patterns of this pnc scouting report of josh johnson, okay. he is really good. 16 wins for the marlins in his 21 starts. eight of his last 10 starts and over the last two years since he recovered from tommy john surgery, 26 wins by that club in his 35 starts. the big hokie is good. let's hope take pattern doesn't hold true tonight. >> bob: it is funny.

i was talking to one of the marlins' broadcaster whose shall remain nameless. and guzman will drop one up the middle. and it is funny, broadcasters are superstitious like players are. we know that about rob evident. he said i don't like that match- up. it appears to be a plies match. something is going to go wrong. i said i certainly hope so. josh willingham will be next, and there's the marlin defense with cody ross between chris coul lan and jeremy hermida. uggla and ramirez have been up the middle for the better part of four years now. cantu and nick johnson on the corners, and the catcher, john wake baker. the marlins are in the bottom of five in the league defensively, and here is the former marlin josh willingham. coming off a great road trip.

and josh had a double and two walks yesterday to push that on- base percentage up to up .420 now. when he gets enough at-bats, that will put him number two in the league with a lofty number like that. oh, man, that was close. guzman took about a step and a half the wrong way just as johnson threw. yes. you can see the stutter step towards second base. most of the times you get picked off if the pitcher sees that quick enough. >> bob: if that throw is is a little lower, he is gone. willingham with a base hit to left. adding to his .305 batting daverage, and the nats have tw singles with one out. adam dunn coming up, and he has been notable lately. the nats in the last 10 games really you powdering the ball.

adam dunn just right in the middle of it and he has owned nationals park litly. the marlins, their starters have been very good. look at that, a 3.30'ear, unbeaten as they have won nine of their last 12. >> rob: this hot streak can't continue by the marlins. it can't. bishop. >> bob: okay. here is adam dunn. he might like this match-up better than hedoes guys throwing all kinds of junk, breaking stuff and off-speed deliveries at him. the tying run is at second base with one @ 51 of his 78 rbi's come with runners in scoring position.

2-1. >> rob: what is funny, talking to him after the game last night. well, i was looking for a changeup and kind of ran into the fastball the otheway. he is just so strong, he doesn't have to sit back and make his pitch. >> bob: albert pujols has only hit four homers in july. his lead has really shrunk. the count is even 2-2. mu jols is also nearly 30 points behind hanley ramirez in batting average. so it appears there will be no triple crown this year. and a 2-2 to dunn hitting .280. adam strike strikes out for the 120th time. two down.

>> rob: 63 walks. 191 strikeouts. now, 193 strikeouts in the last 230 innings. he does give up hits on the .229 innings pitched spanned, he gave up 213 hits. so he is a power pitcher. he'll give up the occasional home run, but this year his off- speed stuff has been phenomenal. >> bob: the power match-up here with elijah dukes. he can't get to the breaking ball. dukes comes out of his first weekend back in the big leagues hitting .245. 32 rbi's and -- in 60 games. it looks like the strikes are on the outer hah tonight.

elijah has fanned 50 times and walked 20. this will be tough for him on 0- 2. willie harris and the third base assignment with ryan zimmerman not starting. he has two in the first at philadelphia tonight. hamels and moyer. the marlins are doing some scoreboard watching these days as the second place team. and dukes take as breaking

ball. it is 2-2. ludwick has homered and the cardinals are ahead at new york. the mets are 10 out in fourth place 1-0 marlins here. two on, two out. and dukes hits it hard to center. how far? it is caught by cody ross at the base of the wall. i tell you, off the bat, that sounded like it was going halfway up the hill. the nats are frustrated. they leave two as elijah dukes goes deep, but not deep enough. i've never been all that great with my money. probably because i've never had much. but now that i'm making more,

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 >> bob: we thought the nats were going to take the lead. dukes refro traded. it will be another family fun pack sunday when the diamondbacks are here. $14 gets you an upper right field terrace ticket, and $25 lower right field reserved. with each ticket ahot dog, non- alcoholic drink and chips. minimum two tickets per purchase. premium autographs on signature sundays and the kids get to run the bases after the game. mom and dad, you get the watch. deposit of the second. john baker for the marlins. their catcher hitting .275. on the first pitch, he'll pop it up to the shortstop.

christian guzman. no wind at all tonight, and, rob making the comment in between innings it appears any shred of breeze, that ball by dukes probably gets outside plenty. >> rob: he hit that to the farthest part of the park. he crushed that ball and it just died in the corner and ross caught it. it was a nice grab, by the way, by cody ross. >> bob: if it is 402 where the numerals are, it is about another six of seven feet to the tip of that triangle out there. just to the left of the 402 is where cody ross hauled it in. and the pitcher josh johnson, he's hit two home runs this year. he has driven in eight. he is a .127 career hitter. in his last start against the braves, he went deep. both of his home runs have been three-run shots.

he 4eu9 hit the other one against milwaukee. he will look at a curve ball and they take a seat. the second strikeout for j.d. martin. the nats took a team photo today. i hope everybody was nighs and alert after our 2:00 a.m. arrival. all of the guys looking good, distinguished. >> rob: looking good, feeling good. lean fighting machine. >> bob: i wonder who is the toughest guy to stand still for the pitcher? morgan maybe? dunn? >> rob: nyjer's fast just standing there. wil nieves has a lot of energy. >> bob: he is a little fidgety. >> rob: yeah, he makes coffee nervous. see, they didn't have an animal in their pictures. when i was in cincinnati, we

always had the puppy of beethoven that was given to marge schott, and the dock was usually chasing somebody around or going after some batting glue. that was shoty's favorite thing. >> bob: the best story i ever heard was andy when he was with the pirates, he wore a black cap with a gold s. on it. nobody noticed it. it was for tubenville, ohio high school. he pulled one over on them because it was the same color as the pirates' cap. that one well played by guzman. chris coghlan is gone and a 1-2- 3 inning for j.d. martin. úd geico's been saving people money on car insurance for over 70 years.

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 >> bob: today's telecast on masn celebrating the 219th birthday of the united states coast guard. it is being brought to you by dine corp. we serve today for a safe tomorrow. pan sonic, tough book computers. tough book for a tough world. navy federal credit union. we serve where you serve. the big gray ships and a military man at the ballpark tonight. he is routing for his nationals. the bottom of the second coming up. harris, gonzales and nieves against josh johnson. he goes up first pitch swinging, pops it up. hanley ramirez. you can't fool us torny -- tony

kornheiser! we see you under that cap. taking in some action at the ballpark tonight. >> rob: tony kornheiser. >> bob: he is fun to listen to on the radio. he is very clever. knowledgeable. have you ever interviewed him or vice versa? >> rob: we worked together at espn radio. >> bob: on the same show? >> rob: no, he was the show before before the show i worked on. so i used to go and talk to him about sports occasionally. yes, he is a very, very smart man. he was a writer for the "washington post" for many, many years. he did monday night football. he still does his raid yes show. -- radio show and "pardon the interruption" with michael wilbon, and he loves popcorn at

the ballpark. bishop a fastball up. he tips it into the glove. will five ease. bases empty. and with more on ryan zimmerman, here is debbi taylor. >> today ryan zimmerman was awarded the heart and hustle award. the former washington senator and chair of the major league baseball players' association gave him the award and it is really an honor for him to be a finalist for the national award. he is among his peers such as david eckstein and albert pujols and i think it is just his drive and the way he plays 2 game r. game that got him nominated. >> bob: that is a neat award to be nominated for as your team's representative. i can see those three guys being favorites for that award. wil nieves hitting .256.

he is 10 for his last 33, over 10 ballgames started. >> rob: i'm shocked that milton bradley is not on that list. >> bob: you are not! come on! he's got a lot of drive. >> rob: he's got a lot of passion. and emotion. >> bob: 1-2 to will nieves, and that's a breaking ball going away. 2-2. the in the dark.

no peanuts or nothin'. ts pitcherg e on deck. a great time for wil nieves to get on deck. nick johnson plays way off the line. he knows his former teammate likes to hit the ball over there. that time, though, johnson jammed him. josh johnson. nick johnson catches the throw. and the nats are gone in order, five in a row for josh. the top of the third in a 1-0 game coming up. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool. you know this scale is off by a good 7, 8 pounds. maybe five.

priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. all the way to the home, you meant... we bring fiber optic all the way to the home. um... which gives you more bandwidth than cable. so you can upload faster. so it's like comparing a horse and buggy to a sports car. am i the, uh, horse? (announcer) it's a whole new internet. makes uploading as easy as downloading. because your internet's not fast unless it's two-way fast.  >> bob: beautiful look righ

into nationals park from left field. we go to the the of the third. johnson, ramirez and cantu. the first game of this three- game series with the arizona diamondbacks to follow. and there's the schedule for you. masn two for this series, hd kicks in on friday. d.c. 50 joins us on sunday. john lannan, tomorrow night, and craig stammen and chris volstad. that's a thursday matinee at 12:35. "nats xtra," high noon. john lannan, the only lefty to appear in this series. i can't wait to see him back on the mound tomorrow night. chris coghlan opened the game with a double. áwherever nick plays, he is going to hit .270 to 280. his on-base average is going to be .380 of higher. his power is really down. he only hit five homers last year, although he missed a lot of the season. but this year healthy. he has only hit six. >> rob: he only played 36 games

last year. >> bob: and, of course, he was having a really good season in 2006 when he broke his leg out at shea. he was hitting .290. he had the left-handed home run record with those 23 for the nats until adam dunn passed him up. j.d. martin on a 2-2 pitch. and nick will pop it up to the left side. christian guzman calls off willie harris. one out. let's have a look at some of the home runs with the nats. that was the one, remember he hit against santana, that laser beam to left field at citi field? >> rob: that was very impressive. that just shows you how well he tracks the ball and can hit it the other way.

he hit lefties about .350 this year. >> bob: and that one in philadelphia. hanley ramirez hit by a pitch the first time. >> rob: his uniform was hit by a pitch. >> bob: true. let's see how many times his uniform has been hit this year. >> rob: seven. >> rob: i think he has lost a lot of weight or he needs to tighten up that uniy a little bit. a little baggy. he is not david wells. >> bob: i think david wells and edgar renteria wore the baggiest uniform. >> rob: manny ramirez. but that is just manny being slop write -- sloppy. the nfl has a uniform kind of lore of uniforms, and he goes

around to every game and he makes sure that every player is up to enough as far as wearing the uniforms. if not, they get fined heavily. >> bob: i wouldn't mess with jack tatum. >> rob: no. i think baseball needs to get with it and get some guys to go around and get these guys up to enough with their uniforms. >> bob: man, that is a good pitch. >> rob: it is a case of a rookie pitcher against a guy who is right up there for the batting title. i figure if he doesn't swing it is not a strike. >> bob: yeah. >> bob: leading -- leading hit guys. hanley ramirez is in that list. happenry ramirez will walk with

one out. and that will add to his .410- plus on-base average. he is aboard with one out for jorge cantu. cantu hit that ball up the middle on which nyjer morgan made a fantastic play. it was basically a base hit, and with nick johnson caught in no man's land on a short hop to the center fielder. nyjer threw nick out at third. if that play doesn't happen -- >> rob: got him! >> bob: that was real close. >> rob: ramirez got caught looking at signs at the third base coach. a great job by j.d. martin. you will watch ramirez looking out across the diamond. he doesn't see the pitcher. just missed tagging him. >> bob: if adam slaps that down

towards his leg he might have had him. he tagged him belt high while the leg was getting back to the bag. >> bob: the mets just got three in the bottom of the second to take a 3-1 lead at st. louis. i heard an interesting factoid today about the mets. the diamondbacks were at citi field, mark, the third baseman? >> rob: reynolds. >> bob: he hid three home runs in that game and that's how

many david wright has hit at home in the ballpark. >> rob: have you seen that ballpark? mccutchen did that one day against the nationals. >> bob: the mets are at the bottom of the league in power. they did get gary sheffield back. 2-1 to cantu. and that will even the count. big strong dan uggla on deck. martin has had a hard time putting away hitters. he has had a lot of two-strike counts, just like ramirez a moment ago and a couple of guys in the first inning. he hasn't been able to get the out. >> rob: in the first inning, he had a great 12-6 breaking ball. even a good slider.

he's gone away from it. knocked down by the pitcher. he didn't want to chance the play at second base, and you can understand why and he made a very good play to get one out. >> rob: great reaction right here. in position to knock this ball down. he has no play on ramirez. he doesn't want to force the throw. he takes him out -- he takes the sure out. >> bob: two outs, uggla coming up. dan walked the first time up.

the pitch count really mounting here. two outs in the third, and reaching the 60-pitch mark. j.d. martin and josh johnson, 31 pitches and 21 strikes. but it is still a one run ballgame and that is 3-0 on

uggla. he is uggla is on his way to another 30-home run season. he has hit 31 and 32 the last two years, 27 as a rookie in 2006. that is another strike out there. as i mentioned we first saw this to adam dunn and now to the right-handed batters. the umpire has a liking for the outside corner and beyond. >> rob: he has been consistently calling that pitch out there. bob: that one is he.

two walks, it is two on, two out and jeremy hermida is coming up. >> rob: it is not the worst walk in the world. when you look at this lineup, who can really hurt you? ramirez, not only is he a great hitter, 16 homers, 780 rbi, they gave him unone more, and then uggla, 19 homers 5rbgs 4 ribbies. those are two guys, not a problem to pitch around. he struck hermida out the last time. >> bob: they made numerous trips to the mound to see garrett mock last night. he had 63 pitches in three innings. j.d. martin will have to two have pitches here to equal that. but bottom line is the young flats' pitchers are having a hard time getting outs without spending lots of energy. mock pitched three hitters and

no outs before tyler clippard literally saved the game. i know mcdougle got the save, but he got the win. >> rob: no matter how hard you try, eventually you're going to have to throw a strike or let the other team hit it. it is better if they hit your pitch that you want them to pitch than be behind in the count and then have to throw anytime there for a strike and then they rip the cover all of it. you can be careful or be too careful and put yourself in a jam. that's what mock mass done, j.d. martin has done at times. >> bob: it is going to be another long night for the nationals' bullpen. >> rob: it is a question of you can't throw your strike three pitch when it is an 0-0 count, you have to get something in there for a strike.

>> bob: a bouncer foul. the count is even at 1-1. j.d. martin was in the cleveland organization for eight years. he never made it to the big leagues. the nats got him as a minor league free agent last november. >> rob: but you have to be doing something right, bob. i don't care if you're pitching in college, and you're 61-31, and that's what he did in the minor leagues. so he's a winner. he knows how to win. he -- you don't get up to the major leagues and all of a sudden and change your style and say i'm going to be a little nibbler. >> bob: hotshot. guzman to his left. he'll have to throw to first and two more stranded by the marlins. it is military night here at nationals park. the beautiful world war ii memorial and up the hill on the other side of the potomac, i

what jimma. i woe jimma. ♪ ♪ (tucci) more bars in more places. at&t. the best coverage worldwide.

 >> thanks to the united sta coast guard. thank you for protecting america every day. >> well said josh willingham. the coast guard one of america's five armed forces tracing its roots back to august 4, 1790. today is the 219th birthday of the u.s. coast guard and we would like to thank all of our armed forces to the dedication of protecting the safety and the security of america.

j. k. martin, oh-fer three as a big league hitter. he has had two real long innings when you consider that the one, two, three top of the second was only 10 pitches. find a way to stick around for a while. he has stranded five marlins already. as the nats try to again rate some offense against josh johnson. that's no swing. the count is 1-2. # @e@he took hack at a high fastball and popped it up. calling everybody off jeremy he six straight for johnson with

nyjer morgan walking in. rob, that play he made back in the first inning is worth %otr lo. >> rob: he is he ght he could have caught it in the air and nick johnson gets held up in between. is he going to catch it? is it going to drop? he goes back towards second and that was all the time nyjer needed to throw out the marlins' nick johnson. >> bob: not even close at third base on a force out. top of the order. morgan struck out swinging the first time up. >> rob: did you know the coast guard when it wabrought into existence 1790 it was part of the department of sury. >> bob: that is a swing, 0-the 2, and that is really interesting. the department of the treasury. >> rob: yes. >> bob: so they have some gold hidden in those ships? >> rob: absolutely. maybe they were busy hiding the gold. >> bob: probably hiding it from